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PLEASE NOTE THE LAST SENTENCE OF THE BELOW ARTICLE
It says]"Encounters have become so frequent — and the dangers of boarding the vessels so pronounced — that the Coast Guard is pushing for legislation that would make the use of “unflagged†semi-submersibles in international waters a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, even if authorities can’t recover drug evidence because the smugglers scuttle the transports."[/b]
http://www.nowpublic.com/strange/intere ... ubmersible
Interesting Drug Smuggler Technique - Drug Smuggling Semi-Submersible
A Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment intercepts a semi-submersible vessel 375 nautical miles west of the Galapagos Islands on March 1, 2008. Four smugglers were recovered from the sea after the vessel took on water and sank. CNN tells us]http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/sep/15 ... pa-based-/[/url]
Photo of an interesting hull shape.
Drug-Toting Semi-Sub Nabbed In Tampa-Based Probe
By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune
Published]http://www.boston.com/news/nation/artic ... ling_subs/[/url]
For US, a terror threat lurks in drug smuggling subs
Shift of cargo to arms and people is feared
KEY WEST, Fla. - Skimming just below the surface, they are extremely difficult to detect from surveillance aircraft or patrol boats. Their sleek design, up to 80 feet in length, can secretly carry several tons of cargo thousands of miles.
These "semi-submersibles," which exhibit some of the same characteristics as military submarines, mark a significant advancement in the ability of drug smugglers to slip past coastal defenses.
So far this year, the Coast Guard says it has encountered at least 27 such vessels headed toward the southern and western United States, more than in the previous six years combined, while far more are believed to have gone undetected, according to US military and law enforcement officials.
The growing number and increased sophistication of the vessels, officially designated "self-propelled semi-submersibles," has set off alarms at the highest levels of the US military and the federal Department of Homeland Security. Counterterrorism officials fear that what drug runners now use to deliver cocaine, terrorists could one day use to sneak personnel or massive weapons into the United States.
Navy Admiral James Stavridis, commander of the US Southern Command, the Miami-based military command that concentrates on Latin America, warned in a recent military journal article, "If drug cartels can ship up to 10 tons of cocaine in a semi-submersible, they can clearly ship or rent space to a terrorist organization for a weapon of mass destruction or a high-profile terrorist."
US intelligence officials have concluded the pod-like vessels are being constructed by outside specialists working in "expeditionary shipyards" - remote, makeshift facilities nestled along rivers or estuaries in the jungles of Colombia, the world's largest producer of cocaine - from which they are transported to the coast for the journey north.
Built with high-tech composite materials and camouflaged to blend in with the ocean, they are estimated to cost up to several million dollars apiece.
Although their interiors are quite Spartan - an engine, a rudimentary bridge with a set of controls and crawl spaces - the submersibles are considered a generational leap beyond the more traditional means of large-scale intracoastal drug smuggling]."
Despite the semi-submersible's multimillion-dollar price tag, they are apparently considered disposable, one-way transportation: After delivering their cargo at a pre-determined drop-off point, they are abandoned at sea.
Nevertheless, as a means of delivering such large drug payloads, the vessels appear to be paying for themselves many times over. One kilogram of cocaine can fetch tens of thousands of dollars on the street, and each semi-submersible can carry well over 9,000 kilos - a payload worth tens of millions of dollars or more.
"They are sophisticated vessels," said Rear Admiral Steve Branham, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District in Miami, who said the vessels have been detected in both the Caribbean and in the Eastern Pacific off the coast of Mexico. "They are able to carry their cargo readily at a fairly good speed [and] they are easily scuttled."
"That makes it harder for us to collect evidence," he added.
In several recent incidents, crew members were captured after scuttling their craft but authorities released them because there was no physical evidence of wrongdoing, Branham said. Legislation now being considered by Congress aims to address that loophole by outlawing the use of semi-submersibles, which do not fly the flag of their country of origin as required of other sea-going vessels.
Branham, whose Coast Guard district encompasses 1.8 million square miles, said the submersibles - usually with a crew of no more than two - appear to make contact with other private vessels at sea to provision them with food and water on their long journeys from South America.
That, he said, is another sign that the semi-submersible smuggling business may be maturing into a "niche industry" that caters to the drug cartels but could be hired to deliver any cargo.
Previously, smugglers "were not highly paid," he said. "They were the average Joe. Now, with semi-submersible vessels and supply vessels at way points . . . there is a much more elaborate transportation system than there used to be."
Where it could evolve next is what worries US security officials and private analysts.
Stephen Flynn, a former Coast Guard officer and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the vessels "could have more sober homeland security implications."
"They have created a far more sophisticated and, from a security perspective, potentially far more daunting maritime threat," he added. "If you are figuring out how to evade US borders this is clearly a more advanced avenue."
Interesting Drug Smuggler Technique - Drug Smuggling Semi-Submersible
A Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment intercepts a semi-submersible vessel 375 nautical miles west of the Galapagos Islands on March 1, 2008. Four smugglers were recovered from the sea after the vessel took on water and sank. CNN tells us:
The USCG has intercepted another DIY Semi-Submersible operated by drug smugglers. CNN reports:
In the past three months the Coast Guard has learned of
more semi-submersible vessels smuggling drugs than it did in the
previous six years, when there were 23 cases, officials said.
U.S. Coast Guard intelligence officers predict 85 cases this year and 120 next year.
In some instances, the semi-subs are towed behind other vessels and
are scuttled if they are detected, Allen said. Authorities are
investigating reports that some semi-subs are unmanned and are operated
remotely, he said.
Diplomatic agreements give the U.S. Coast Guard drug-interdiction jurisdiction in partner countries’ waters.
Encounters have become so frequent — and the dangers of boarding the
vessels so pronounced — that the Coast Guard is pushing for legislation
that would make the use of “unflagged†semi-submersibles in
international waters a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison,
even if authorities can’t recover drug evidence because the smugglers
scuttle the
It says]"Encounters have become so frequent — and the dangers of boarding the vessels so pronounced — that the Coast Guard is pushing for legislation that would make the use of “unflagged†semi-submersibles in international waters a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison, even if authorities can’t recover drug evidence because the smugglers scuttle the transports."[/b]
http://www.nowpublic.com/strange/intere ... ubmersible
Interesting Drug Smuggler Technique - Drug Smuggling Semi-Submersible
A Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment intercepts a semi-submersible vessel 375 nautical miles west of the Galapagos Islands on March 1, 2008. Four smugglers were recovered from the sea after the vessel took on water and sank. CNN tells us]http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/sep/15 ... pa-based-/[/url]
Photo of an interesting hull shape.
Drug-Toting Semi-Sub Nabbed In Tampa-Based Probe
By ELAINE SILVESTRINI | The Tampa Tribune
Published]http://www.boston.com/news/nation/artic ... ling_subs/[/url]
For US, a terror threat lurks in drug smuggling subs
Shift of cargo to arms and people is feared
KEY WEST, Fla. - Skimming just below the surface, they are extremely difficult to detect from surveillance aircraft or patrol boats. Their sleek design, up to 80 feet in length, can secretly carry several tons of cargo thousands of miles.
These "semi-submersibles," which exhibit some of the same characteristics as military submarines, mark a significant advancement in the ability of drug smugglers to slip past coastal defenses.
So far this year, the Coast Guard says it has encountered at least 27 such vessels headed toward the southern and western United States, more than in the previous six years combined, while far more are believed to have gone undetected, according to US military and law enforcement officials.
The growing number and increased sophistication of the vessels, officially designated "self-propelled semi-submersibles," has set off alarms at the highest levels of the US military and the federal Department of Homeland Security. Counterterrorism officials fear that what drug runners now use to deliver cocaine, terrorists could one day use to sneak personnel or massive weapons into the United States.
Navy Admiral James Stavridis, commander of the US Southern Command, the Miami-based military command that concentrates on Latin America, warned in a recent military journal article, "If drug cartels can ship up to 10 tons of cocaine in a semi-submersible, they can clearly ship or rent space to a terrorist organization for a weapon of mass destruction or a high-profile terrorist."
US intelligence officials have concluded the pod-like vessels are being constructed by outside specialists working in "expeditionary shipyards" - remote, makeshift facilities nestled along rivers or estuaries in the jungles of Colombia, the world's largest producer of cocaine - from which they are transported to the coast for the journey north.
Built with high-tech composite materials and camouflaged to blend in with the ocean, they are estimated to cost up to several million dollars apiece.
Although their interiors are quite Spartan - an engine, a rudimentary bridge with a set of controls and crawl spaces - the submersibles are considered a generational leap beyond the more traditional means of large-scale intracoastal drug smuggling]."
Despite the semi-submersible's multimillion-dollar price tag, they are apparently considered disposable, one-way transportation: After delivering their cargo at a pre-determined drop-off point, they are abandoned at sea.
Nevertheless, as a means of delivering such large drug payloads, the vessels appear to be paying for themselves many times over. One kilogram of cocaine can fetch tens of thousands of dollars on the street, and each semi-submersible can carry well over 9,000 kilos - a payload worth tens of millions of dollars or more.
"They are sophisticated vessels," said Rear Admiral Steve Branham, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District in Miami, who said the vessels have been detected in both the Caribbean and in the Eastern Pacific off the coast of Mexico. "They are able to carry their cargo readily at a fairly good speed [and] they are easily scuttled."
"That makes it harder for us to collect evidence," he added.
In several recent incidents, crew members were captured after scuttling their craft but authorities released them because there was no physical evidence of wrongdoing, Branham said. Legislation now being considered by Congress aims to address that loophole by outlawing the use of semi-submersibles, which do not fly the flag of their country of origin as required of other sea-going vessels.
Branham, whose Coast Guard district encompasses 1.8 million square miles, said the submersibles - usually with a crew of no more than two - appear to make contact with other private vessels at sea to provision them with food and water on their long journeys from South America.
That, he said, is another sign that the semi-submersible smuggling business may be maturing into a "niche industry" that caters to the drug cartels but could be hired to deliver any cargo.
Previously, smugglers "were not highly paid," he said. "They were the average Joe. Now, with semi-submersible vessels and supply vessels at way points . . . there is a much more elaborate transportation system than there used to be."
Where it could evolve next is what worries US security officials and private analysts.
Stephen Flynn, a former Coast Guard officer and senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said the vessels "could have more sober homeland security implications."
"They have created a far more sophisticated and, from a security perspective, potentially far more daunting maritime threat," he added. "If you are figuring out how to evade US borders this is clearly a more advanced avenue."
Interesting Drug Smuggler Technique - Drug Smuggling Semi-Submersible
A Coast Guard Law Enforcement Detachment intercepts a semi-submersible vessel 375 nautical miles west of the Galapagos Islands on March 1, 2008. Four smugglers were recovered from the sea after the vessel took on water and sank. CNN tells us:
The USCG has intercepted another DIY Semi-Submersible operated by drug smugglers. CNN reports:
In the past three months the Coast Guard has learned of
more semi-submersible vessels smuggling drugs than it did in the
previous six years, when there were 23 cases, officials said.
U.S. Coast Guard intelligence officers predict 85 cases this year and 120 next year.
In some instances, the semi-subs are towed behind other vessels and
are scuttled if they are detected, Allen said. Authorities are
investigating reports that some semi-subs are unmanned and are operated
remotely, he said.
Diplomatic agreements give the U.S. Coast Guard drug-interdiction jurisdiction in partner countries’ waters.
Encounters have become so frequent — and the dangers of boarding the
vessels so pronounced — that the Coast Guard is pushing for legislation
that would make the use of “unflagged†semi-submersibles in
international waters a crime punishable by up to 20 years in prison,
even if authorities can’t recover drug evidence because the smugglers
scuttle the
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